DraftKings Showdown MNF DFS Plays: Week 12

Week 12 of the NFL DraftKings slate wraps up with a Monday Night Football matchup between the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers. This game will be Christian McCaffrey’s first game against his former squad. And fun fact: McCaffrey’s last game as a Panther came against the 49ers.

So a little bit of history there. San Francisco enters this game as a 7.5-point favorite. And understandably so, in Brock Purdy’s first game back, the team had 41 points against the Arizona Cardinals. The team has been decimated by injuries on defense, which explains the high point total of 49.5. However, nobody knows what to make of this Panthers squad, as they are 6-5 and coming off another great win against the Atlanta Falcons.

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This Panthers team is quite up-and-down. The Buffalo Bills score 40 points on them in a blowout, then go out and beat a good Green Bay Packers team. So, we can expect an interesting game on Monday night. And one that is great for potential DraftKings points. We all know who the captain pick is going to be, so let’s waste no time and get right into it.

Week 12 DraftKings Monday Night Football Showdown Plays

Captain Pick: Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers (18.6K)

Look, you can throw in the revenge game narrative all you want. You can also pick any metric you’d like for fantasy purposes, too. McCaffrey is the unquestioned captain pick for his heavy workload. McCaffrey has 20 more catches than any other running back this season. He leads the NFL in touches out of the backfield with 267. The next closest is Jonathan Taylor with 237, and that includes his Week 12 game against the Chiefs. McCaffrey will get the chance to build his lead against his former team, which is middle of the pack against running backs. Carolina allows the 17th most fantasy points to the position. That does not matter; regardless, due to McCaffrey’s usage as a receiver. In a full PPR format, McCaffrey is invaluable, and his DraftKings salary reflects that, with him being $3,000 more than Rico Dowdle. This player is the McCaffrey of old, and he will be a captain in most of my lineups tonight.

Flex Play: Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers (9.4K)

McMillan has been quietly posting a great season regarding target share, receiving yards share, and first-read targets. And it felt like he put it all together with 36 DraftKings points against the Atlanta Falcons. McMillan had eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. What really piqued my interest, looking at this stat line, was his slot snaps. He took a quarter of his snaps from the slot against the Falcons. His total on those 13 snaps was three catches for 31 yards and a touchdown. McMillan has three games in which he took ten or more slot snaps. And those are his three best games in terms of yardage this season. If they choose to do that, in this game, he will go against Upton Stout, who is allowing the second-most yardage of any slot corner, according to PFF. Everything is lining up for McMillan to have a big night on primetime in San Francisco.

Flex Play: George Kittle, San Francisco (8.6K)

Kittle is an elite target earner when he is on the field, especially when he has Brock Purdy as his quarterback. They have only played about five quarters of football together. And in those five quarters, Kittle has three touchdowns and 37.2 DraftKings points. Those two have evident chemistry together. They have the second-most touchdowns in 49ers team history between a quarterback and a tight end. Kittle will likely be the number two option in the passing game, and I expect the pair to have another big night together as Carolina allows the fourth-most yards to the tight end position.

Flex Play: Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers (4K)

Remember that statistic I mentioned earlier for slot receivers against the 49ers. McMillan will get his snaps in the slot, but Coker will be getting the favorable matchup for most of the game. Coker has taken 63 percent of his snaps from the slot this season. He is also coming off his best game of the season, in which he caught four receptions for 52 yards. And against a team in San Francisco that is allowing the fifth-most passing yards per game. Carolina could adjust their game plan to go after this injured defense. That game plan seems wise, considering their quarterback had 448 passing yards in his last game. With Coker getting more involved every week, this could be his breakout game in 2025.

Kickers and Defenses

These two defenses are two of the bottom five against the pass. Expect a heavy dose of offense tonight, and both defenses will quickly drop teams down the leaderboard. For kickers, I would likely avoid both at their DraftKings salaries. Give me potential pass-catching options like Jalen Coker, Ja’Tavion Sanders, or even someone with a little higher DraftKings salary like Ricky Pearsall. I want as many chances to score points through the air in this projected high-scoring game. So I will avoid defenses and special teams this week.

Final Thoughts

This game is exciting, and a matchup we do not typically get in primetime. It is nice to have Bryce Young and this Panthers squad on national television. They definitely earned it with some of their team’s quality wins. They are potentially one good offseason away from being contenders if last week was not just a flash in the pan for Bryce Young. As for the DraftKings showdown aspect, the San Francisco 49ers are more expensive because their target share is centralized among their top four targets, and everyone else rarely sees consistent work. For a wildcard play, I will go with Brian Robinson, who has been gaining some opportunities the past few weeks. If he scores a touchdown like he did in two of the past three weeks, he could sneak into the optimal lineup. And as for Carolina, I will stick with the two I mentioned earlier: Coker and Sanders. Enjoy the game, and best of luck setting those DraftKings lineups.